Being a paid guest can be a slippery slope and this is the dilemma facing reviewers every time they agree to do an evaluation junket.
First, good etiquette dictates one should be grateful for receiving an action-packed trip in a fun spot like Cape Town. But you must also remember not to be so appreciative that you don't tell the truth. So here is the whole truth and nothing but the truth - the good, the dicey and the exhausting.
Over the last weekend in October, I and several other journos, as well as a gaggle of PR types, were invited by Queensgate Hotels & Leisure to experience some of their Cape Town properties.
This adventure was held in conjunction with Interlink Airlines' inauguration of regular flights to Cape Town and Durban from Pretoria's Wonderboom Airport.
Interlink is trying hard to be the little airline that could. Although fares are generally rand-for-rand matched with the budget airlines, the company provides many "extras" normally associated with the "big brand", full-service carriers.
So, on what was essentially a charter flight, for this junket, drinks and dinner were served.
Cabin crew was friendly and efficient and the pilots took advantage of tailwinds, landing us in the Mother City after only an hour and 45 minutes.
And, during the return flight the next Sunday, the crew dispensed an impressive in-flight lunch reported to be included in the low-ball ticket price.
Of course for every plus, there has to be a minus. Seats in the economy section were extremely narrow with all the leg room of a 1959 Austin Mini.
The one saving grace here was this particular flight was not too crowded, allowing people of above-average girth to jack up the armrest and sort of lounge a l224 Barbara Cartland across two seats.
However, in ordinary circumstances it could be an excruciatingly cramped two hours. Up front in business class, the going was quite a bit better - wider seats for wider derrieres and far more leg room.
In short, Interlink is what it is - a budget-priced alternative offering those little extras "no frills" passengers have learned to do without to save a buck.
This, coupled with the convenience of operating out of a small national airport, makes the new airline an obvious choice. For the money, you won't do any better.
In Cape Town, the Rockwell All-Suite Hotel was our home away from home. Inspired by the early 20th century buildings of downtown Manhattan, the hotel has been designed with a distinct up-market industrial New York City ambience.
One- and two- bedroom self-catering apartments are generously spacious and have views of Signal Hill, Table Mountain, Cape Town Harbour and Green Point.
In the heart of De Waterkant, close to the historical Bo-Kaap and the V&A Waterfront, it is ideal for all types of travellers.
Stylish retail stores, restaurants, coffee bars and nightspots are within walking distance, making The Rockwell especially convenient and safe.
On the flipside, service is not The Rockwell's strong point. I am a bit of a Luddite, I admit. I don't know how to set the alarm on my cellphone, so I asked the desk clerk to give me a wake-up call at 7am.
Since I am so pushbutton-challenged, I always have trouble operating hotel room airconditioners and the satellite TV remote. This time was no exception.
I called the desk to ask someone to come up and show me how to get things working. Meanwhile, I opened the sliding glass doors leading to the balcony and let the cool night air blow in from the harbour.
After struggling with the remote controls for about an hour, I gave up and went to bed.
As for the wake-up call and help with the TV, I'm still waiting.
While I'm getting it all off my chest, the buffet breakfasts were not particularly inspired and the supply of food always ran out before the demand did.
There was never enough breakfast serving staff. Those who were on duty gave it a valiant try, but they were simply outnumbered.
However, people don't usually book into self-catering hotels to watch telly, eat hotel breakfasts or receive wake-up calls. If you plan to be a do-it-yourselfer, you should not run into any problems.
The hotel is stylish, bright, spacious, clean and conveniently located - all good reasons to stay there.
The Saturday was a busy day and got off to an early start. After breakfast, we were herded on to a tour bus. Heading west, we got to cruise by the Western Cape's nuclear power plant, several mysteriously still power-generating windmills and many other local oddities. All were pointed out and explained to us by our bus tour guide.
Eventually, we stopped in an amazing fishing village called Paternoster. The town is famous for its one-and-a-half stores, snow-white buildings, equally white sand beaches and azure waters.
Our next port of call was the Shelley Point Hotel, Spa & Country Club. Just a little more than an hour's drive up the west coast from Cape Town, it is a romantic and tranquil destination well worth the bumpy ride.
Comprising 42 luxury suites and two garden villas, the hotel has the look of a grand colonial plantation house.
A family destination, Shelley Point Hotel has activities for children of all ages, even those past the age of majority. It's a place where you can play a round or two on the nine-hole golf course, relax in the clubhouse or be pampered at the spa.
The spa's aromatherapy shower tubes with six massaging water jets and huge overhead nozzle have to be experienced to be believed.
The buffet lunch served to our group was spectacular, featuring one of the best lamb curries I have ever tasted. And before dessert, we were treated to a few magic tricks performed by the hotel manager
Obviously, his career prior to becoming an hotelier involved a top hat and a red-lined cape.
Keeping in the spirit of the day (Halloween) we were informed we would be having dinner in one of the Cape's most haunted places, the Alphen Country House Hotel.
Built in 1714, it is an historic country manor and national monument. Suites here are furnished in a style recalling the venue's extravagant past, with period furniture standing comfortably alongside more modern amenities such as en suite baths.
The newly refurbished Manor House Restaurant - also known as Cloete's Grillroom - offers 224 la carte dining in a room that has been in use for almost 300 years.
However, in the here and now, the Boer & Brit pub is where most of the hotel's corporeal activity is centred.
Still, after our excellent dinner, a few brave souls from our party opted to seek out things far less substantial than bottled spirits.
We went upstairs to visit the infamous "room 2", the hotel's reputedly most haunted room. The story goes that spooks won't allow people of English descent to have any rest if they try to bunk in here.
Also on display, on the first landing of the stairway, is the antique rocking horse that regularly rocks under the power of unseen hands - and they had been up to their old tricks just a few days earlier.
Alas, on this particular night, the spirits were off somewhere else, perhaps at a fancy dress Halloween party.
However, waiters and hotel staff are prepared to swear on a stack of Bibles that they really are not alone in the old house.
In all, the trip to Cape Town as the guest of Queensgate Hotels and Interlink Airlines was a positive experience.
Yes, there were glitches along the way, but they were minor. Have you ever been on a trip that was glitch-free? Me neither.
I would fly Interlink on my own dime and, despite the somewhat spotty service, would stay at the Rockwell.